Are you ready for a manic Monday tomorrow? The NFL’s 2023 legal tampering period gets underway midday on Monday and with that, we’re sure to be treated to a busy newswire throughout the start of the new league year, which begins on Wednesday. These next seven days also hold quite a bit of importance as well as several players around the NFL will have various kinds of contract triggers that will mature with most of those being related to roster bonuses being due. The Pittsburgh Steelers have four such players currently under contract and in this post we’ll recap them all and the dates associated with each.
WR Diontae Johnson – March 17 Roster Bonus – It was only this past August that Johnson signed a two-year, $36.71 million contract extension. That deal, which runs through the 2024 season, includes roster bonuses due to him in 2023 and 2024. The 2023 $2.5 million roster bonus triggers on the third day of the 2023 league year, which is Friday, March 17. Once it triggers, the Steelers will officially be on the hook for it. At that point, Johnson will have earned $21.5 million since signing his new deal with $17.5 million of that being given to him as a signing bonus. Johnson is scheduled to earn a base salary in 2023 of $8 million. His 2024 roster bonus of $3 million is due to him on March 20 of next year.
K Chris Boswell – March 17 Roster Bonus – Like Johnson, Boswell was also signed to a contract extension this past August. That new deal, which included $20 million in new money over four new years, included him receiving an $8 million signing bonus. Boswell’s roster bonus is due to him on March 17, the same as Johnson’s. His roster bonus, however, is just $1.3 million. Boswell is also due a base salary in 2023 of $2.74 million. This 2023 March roster bonus is the only one included in Boswell’s contract moving forward.
T Chukwuma Okorafor – March 19 Roster Bonus – It’s now been almost one full year since the Steelers signed Okorafor to a three-year, $29.25 million contract that prevented him from testing unrestricted free agency last March. That deal included a $9.25 million signing bonus and thus paid Okorafor $10.5 million in total for 2022. Okorafor’s deal calls for him to be paid a $4 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2023 league year, which is a week from today on March 19. Expectations are that Okorafor will receive that roster bonus on schedule and if that’s the case, expect him to open the 2023 regular season as a starter. Okorafor is scheduled to earn a base salary in 2023 of $6 million as well. Assuming he remains in Pittsburgh this upcoming season, Okorafor will be due another $4 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, which is obviously a little more than a year away.
C Mason Cole – March 19 Roster Bonus – Okorafor isn’t the only Steelers’ offensive lineman due a roster bonus this next week as Cole is as well. It’s been nearly one full year now since the Steelers signed Cole to a three-year, $15.75 million contract in free agency that included a $4.565 million signing bonus. Cole’s 2023 March roster bonus is $1.5 million and just like Okorafor’s, the trigger date on it is reportedly a week from today on Sunday, March 19. Cole is scheduled to earn a base salary in 2023 of $3.9 million as well. As for Cole’s contract moving forward past the 2023 season, the veteran center will be due another $1.5 million roster bonus less than a week into the 2024 league year.
